Tiger King’s Baskins link with Thinkfactory

Howard and Carole Baskin rose to prominence in Netflix hit Tiger King

ITV America’s Thinkfactory Media has teamed up with Tiger King stars Carole and Howard Baskin for an unscripted series exposing animal abuse.

LA-based Thinkfactory and the married activists behind non-profit educational sanctuary Big Cat Rescue will develop and produce the series, which is being taken to market imminently.

It will follow the Baskins as they, alongside others, work to expose those who abuse and take advantage of various animals, the producers said.

The project marks the latest show to capitalise on the success of hit Netflix docuseries Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem & Madness, which was released earlier this year.

Other Tiger King-related shows in the works include a Nicolas Cage-fronted scripted series for Amazon, an Animal Project doc titled Surviving Joe Exotic and NBCUniversal drama Joe Exotic (working title).

Thinkfactory CEO Adam Reed said: “This partnership and new series fall right into Thinkfactory’s wheelhouse, offering a unique new format with incredibly vibrant and passionate individuals at its centre. Carole and Howard are fun, intense, unpredictable, wildly driven, and, oh yeah, they’ve very recently become pop culture sensations.”

The Baskins added in a joint statement: “This is a chance for us to use our new platform to battle the everyday evils facing big cats and so many other animals. Working with Thinkfactory on this show will help us further our life’s mission, while bringing important stories and information to ‘cool cats and kittens’ across the country.”